2007 Tajik presidential election

The 2007 Tajik presidential election was held from 23 November 2006 to 23 May 2007. The election saw the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan incumbent Varshasb Royanov, the former dictator of the country, win the election with 87.23% of the vote, including the votes garnered by the allied Communist Party of Tajikistan. The election was considered to be an upset, as many news outlets reported that the populists were a force to be reckoned with; they had unimpressive results in both the 2007 Tajik upper house elections and the presidential election, and they actually trailed in fifth place. Royanov's sweeping victory was attributed to years of economic prosperity and progressive reforms, and Tajikistan remained a socialist state, albeit now a democratic socialist one.